NVIDIA’s AI-on-5G System to Deliver Graphics, Computer Vision & AI Apps from the Same Server

Artificial intelligence has become an indispensable part of the telecommunication industry. From improved network optimization and fraud detection tools to predictive analytics and robotic process automation, AI is redefining business insights and customer engagement.

In recent times, telcos are exploring different avenues and industry-approved solutions that can run 5G, and accommodate graphics, and AI applications, simultaneously on the same server, computer vision and metaverse included. To address this situation, NVIDIA is in the process of developing a new AI-on-5G solution. It combines edge AI, digital twin workloads, and 5G vRAN, on an all-in-one, hyper-converged and GPU-accelerated system.

The reduced ownership cost with the help of the system will enable telcos to accelerate revenue growth in not only smart cities but also entertainment and manufacturing industries. It is aimed at supporting the multitrillion-dollar, 5G-enabled ecosystem.

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The AI-on-5G system – What is it Made of:

• The AI-on-5G system consists of Fujitsu’s virtualized 5G Open RAN product suite, virtualized central unit (vCU), and distributed unit (vDU), apart from other virtualized software functions of vRAN from Fujitsu.
• Fujitsu’s virtualized 5G Open RAN was developed as part of the 5G Open RAN ecosystem experience (OREX) project.
• The NVIDIA Aerial software development kit for 5G vRAN; NVIDIA Omniverse for building and operating custom 3D pipelines and large-scale simulations; NVIDIA RTX Virtual Workstation (vWS) software; and NVIDIA CloudXR for streaming an extended reality.
• The Hardware includes the NVIDIA A100X and L40 converged accelerators.
• OREX has supported performance verification and evaluation tests for this system.

Masaki Taniguchi, senior vice president and head of mobile systems at Fujitsu, said that the brand was “delivering a fully virtualized 5G vRAN together with multi-access edge computing on the same high-performance, energy-efficient, versatile, and scalable computing infrastructure.” He further added that the combination, powered by AI and XR applications, will empower telcos to deliver ‘ultra-low latency services, highly optimized TCO and energy-efficient performance.’

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In its blog, NVIDIA stated the announcement is a step toward accomplishing the O-RAN alliance’s goal of enabling software-defined, AI-driven, cloud-native, fully programmable, energy-efficient, and commercially ready telco-grade 5G Open RAN solutions.

The all-in-one system relies on GPUs to accelerate the software-defined 5G vRAN, along with the edge AI and graphics applications, without the assistance of any hardware accelerators or a specific telecom CPU. This means that GPUs have the potential to accelerate the vRAN (based on NVIDIA Aerial), AI video analytics (based on NVIDIA Metropolis), streaming immersive extended reality (XR) experiences (based on NVIDIA CloudXR) and digital twins (based on NVIDIA Omniverse).

Ronnie Vasishta, senior vice president of telecom at NVIDIA said:

“Telcos and their customers are exploring new ways to boost productivity, efficiency and creativity through immersive experiences delivered over 5G networks. Mobile World Congress, we are bringing those visions into reality, showcasing how a single GPU-enabled server can support workloads such as NVIDIA Aerial for 5G, CloudXR for streaming virtual reality and Omniverse for digital twins.”

This futuristic vision is a part of a growing portfolio of 5G solutions from NVIDIA focused on creating a more efficient and streamlined transformation in the telecommunications industry. Anchored on the NVIDIA Aerial SDK and A100X converged accelerators — combined with BlueField DPUs and a suite of AI frameworks — NVIDIA provides a high-performance, software-defined, cloud-native, AI-enabled 5G for on-premises and telco operators’ RAN.

Telcos that have partnered with NVIDIA can explore thousands of software vendors and applications to address enterprise needs in smart cities, and different businesses including retail, manufacturing, industrial, and mining.